NY Attorney General, Assemblyman Eichenstein Warn Against Discriminatory Car Washes Before Pesach

By BoroPark24 Staff

The New York Attorney General Letitia James released a statement urging New Yorkers, especially Jews, to be aware of potential discriminatory pricing at car washes, an issue raised by Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein five years ago, and heralded by the Assemblyman since then.

In the last few years many car washes in NYC and the Hudson Valley have raised their prices in the days leading up to Pesach to take advantage of their Jewish customers, which is illegal since it is discriminatory behavior based on someone’s religion. 

“New York has zero tolerance for antisemitism and discrimination of any kind,” said Attorney General James. “Passover is an important holiday for millions of Jews in New York and beyond, and it is illegal and discriminatory to take advantage of a religious holiday to charge more for a service. We will not hesitate to take action against any business that engages in such offensive behavior, and I urge anyone who has been a victim of this discrimination to contact my office immediately.”

Assemblyman Eichenstein urged his constituents and all New Yorkers to be aware if this discriminatory practice, saying in a video: “it is illegal to raise the price for a particular service solely for one religious community.”

“My message to community members,” said the Assemblyman is to “be careful. Check the price and confirm with the attendant. Make sure that services provided for the Passover special, are priced comparably to the same similar services which are not officially Passover services.”

Anyone who is aware of businesses using discriminatory practices or believes that they were charged more for services because of their religion, race, or background is encouraged to file a complaint online or call 1-800-771-7755.